wabashriver wrote:Fresh built computer with Linux Mint installed and running. I need to install drivers but the Biostar TZ77XE3 motherboard CD in only setup for Windows. What do I need to do next? Thanks!

Normally you don't need any motherboard drivers for Linux. All hardware is supported by the kernel with 1 exception: when the hardware is newer than the kernel. If your hardware (motherboard) is newer than the kernel used by your Mint, then you need to upgrade your kernel. But normally all hardware is supported by the kernel.

You will see some packages that will be updated and you should see some packages called linux-headers-*******. If so, that's the latest kernels you must install. After the installation/upgrade is done, reboot your system.

Just curious: do you encounter problems with your motherboard running MInt14? If so, what kind of problems?

nomko wrote:Just curious: do you encounter problems with your motherboard running MInt14? If so, what kind of problems?

Exactly my question Normally you wouldn't need to install drivers as the kernel comes with drivers for most hardware devices and peripherals. There are exceptions though, with some manufacturers not contributing open source drivers to the kernel. You may check by in your menu going to Preferences > Software Sources, and click on the Additional Drivers tab. Here it will display if it found any proprietary (closed source) drivers for your system. But if all is working fine, you do not need to install these.

If you want more help, it is useful if you can share some specifics from your hardware. Open a terminal and run the following command. Share the output here. You can copy text to/from the terminal, see its Edit menu.

xenopeek wrote:Exactly my question Normally you wouldn't need to install drivers as the kernel comes with drivers for most hardware devices and peripherals. There are exceptions though, with some manufacturers not contributing open source drivers to the kernel. You may check by in your menu going to Preferences > Software Sources, and click on the Additional Drivers tab. Here it will display if it found any proprietary (closed source) drivers for your system. But if all is working fine, you do not need to install these.

If you want more help, it is useful if you can share some specifics from your hardware. Open a terminal and run the following command. Share the output here. You can copy text to/from the terminal, see its Edit menu.

wabashriver wrote:My wireless USB adapter also has a Windows installation CD. Do I need to install Wine off a thumb drive to open .exe files?

Okay, here things go competently wrong!

Let me explain this first:

Windows isn't Linux and Linux isn't Windows.

Meaning, that installing Windows drivers and software is NOT DONE under Linux. So, stop asking which Windows driver you need to install. Best to do is providing us all the inbfo of your Wifi USB Adaptor.

Second that; it is really a last ditch effort to try and get Windows drivers working on Linux. You'd normally;- confirm for yourself which bits are working (does sound play, can you connect to the Internet, can you play Youtube movies, can you use your printer etc.)- for the parts that aren't working, check the Additional Drivers as explained- it that didn't help, it is time to do an Internet search and find instructions for how to make your device work with Linux Mint, Ubuntu (as Linux Mint is based on that) or Linux in general- any instructions will often have you either install some software from the central software repository (which you can view with Software Manager), or direct you to some file to download from the manufacturers website- for some select ethernet and wifi devices you may only have the option to use the Windows drivers, but that is increasingly rare and uncommon

If the search didn't turn up anything helpful, you'd post here on the forums in the respective section seeking advice from others on how to get your specific hardware device or peripheral working. Include the inxi output is essential, as it tells use how Linux has identified the device. And when we do an Internet search using black belt Google-Fu, we need to know those details

After trying a few different things I can now connect to the internet. Unfortunately, if I try to do updates I get stuck on update #4 which then turns into a frozen black screen full of codes ranging from 90.923941 - 90.942915. The last line of text is Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in the interrupt panic occurred, switching back to text console. If I load Firefox it freezes up on the Linux Mint Homepage and requires a manual shut down.

With the internet connected but not in use everything seems fine. I did test a video off a thumb drive and everything looks and sounds good. My external DVD drive works fine. Printer status in unknown. The router is on the family computer so I can only use a wireless connection.

Right, so I moved your post to the wireless section of the forum as I think the issue to solve is support for your NetGear WNDA4100 [Ralink RT3573] wireless USB thingy. I'd recommend you try hooking up with a network cable for now, as when you need to install stuff it will be easier if that works and you won't have to download files on another computer.

The Ralink website has just merged with MediaTek, but I found the Linux drivers quickly: http://www.mediatek.com/_en/07_download ... php?sn=501. At the top of the page you will find the "RT3573 USB" entry that is for your device. Download that file. Then the tricky part is how to compile and install it. I found this clear post from another user with this chip (although on a different product) which should work for you also as he was on Ubuntu 12.10 on which your Linux Mint 14 is based: http://stuff.purdon.ca/?page_id=8. You can skip the step where he has you edit the file common/rtusb_dev_id.c, as your device ID is already listed in the file.

You may have to install the package build-essential to be able to compile the driver.